We’re less than a week away from Power Five teams beginning play in the 2020 college football season, and despite uncertainty during the offseason and a number of outbreaks within programs across the country, the teams planning to play continue to push full steam ahead.
ESPN talked to FBS coaches and assistants anonymously to gauge which programs they think are best equipped to handle a season with the cloud of COVID-19 hanging over.
The primary takeaway from these conversations is that differences between the haves and have-nots will be even more pronounced this season. Coaches said that programs which recruit at a high level have a massive advantage over programs that don’t, because they have the depth and talent to contend with opt-outs and illness mid-season.
The bottom line is, if you recruit at a high level, you will be less severely impacted by the necessity of young players getting action.
Because of this, coaches expect teams like Alabama and Clemson to navigate the challenges this season relatively gracefully.
Unsurprisingly, coaches also expect experienced and successful coaches to have a better time maintaining team morale. One said that Dabo Swinney’s positivity and Nick Saban’s ability to adjust will help both keep their teams on track.
Another coach mentioned that experienced coaches have dealt with uncertain situations before and would be more prepared for this season than others.
One thing coaches agreed upon was that due to primarily conference-only scheduling, it will not be a good year for any potential Cinderellas looking to make it to the College Football Playoff.
Without non-conference games, the odds of a Group of Five team earning enough quality wins to land in the playoff seem to be slim to none.
However, coaches do think that an expanded conference schedule could give good teams in power conferences a chance to have breakthrough seasons.
One such team coaches are keeping an eye on is the Gators. Here’s what one Power Five coach said about Dan Mullen’s squad this year.
“Dan is really good the more he’s been with a quarterback, and [Kyle Trask] understands that system,” a Power Five head coach said. “I think Florida has a big-time shot to get there this year, although their third game at Texas A&M will tell us a lot about them.”
Mullen has also kept veteran defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, a finalist for the Mississippi State head-coaching job this past offseason. Grantham turned down the Cincinnati Bengals‘ defensive coordinator job two years ago.
“The teams who have continuity from last year to this year in regards to their coaching staffs and not having to learn a lot of new schemes and things like that, those are the teams best equipped to handle this year,” a Power Five offensive coordinator told ESPN. “That’s Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, all of the usual suspects; but Florida’s in that group too.”
It remains to be seen how the 2020 football season will play out (if it does at all), but there seems to be a general consensus among FBS coaches: Talented teams with resources should be alright, while less wealthy programs that don’t recruit at as high a level will struggle.
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